Nothing’s Phone 4a and Phone 4a Pro Strongly Reject Minimalism

Announced at its own launch event in London, Nothing’s new Phone 4a and Phone 4a Pro are once again turning heads with their eye-catching designs that rage against the clean, minimalist aesthetic found on iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones.

The Phone 4a, which Nothing has teased for weeks, is the less expensive of the two phones, starting at £349 (about $465) and €349 (about $404). The whole backside has more of that transparent design that Nothing is known for with its phones, wireless earbuds, and headphones.

Instead of the Glyph Interface of LED strips last seen on the Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro, the Phone 4a has a Glyph Bar made up of a column of six squares that light up and make sounds when you get notifications. It can also display progress tracking for timers, deliveries, or rideshare arrival estimates.

Specs include a 6.78-inch AMOLED display (2,720 x 1,224) with a 120Hz refresh rate, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7S Gen 4 chip, and 8GB of RAM with either 128GB or 256GB of storage or 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage. The Phone 4a has a 5,080mAh battery with 50W wired charging; there’s no wireless charging. It’s also IP64 rated for water and dust resistance, which is fine, but not as durable as the IP68 and IP69 ratings found in nearly every other phone.

For cameras, the Phone 4a has a triple-lens system on the back with a 50-megapixel f/1.88 main, 50-megapixel f/2.88 3.5x telephoto, and an 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultrawide; the front camera is a 32-megapixel shooter with f/2.2.

The Phone 4a comes in white, black, blue, and pink. It’s a nice evolution in Nothing’s transparent phone portfolio. The midrange Snapdragon 7S Gen 4 chip may be on the slower side compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip you get in phones like Samsung’s Galaxy S26 series, but Nothing is known for optimizing its version of Android, Nothing OS, really well so that everything feels performant. We’ll have to see how the Phone 4a holds up.

Some bad news: U.S. consumers won’t be able to buy the Phone 4a, though. Not even through a beta program this time. But there is good news…

Nothing Phone 4a Pro

The Phone 4a Pro will be sold in the U.S. $499 will get you 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and $599 for 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Your color options include silver, black, and pink.

As you can see, the Phone 4a Pro has a totally different design language. Instead of a Glyph Bar, it has the round Glyph Matrix screen lifted from the Phone 3. The body is also made of unibody aluminum for a more premium look and feel. Its mix of metal and semi-transparent design matches the same materials on the Headphone 1 and Ear 3 wireless earbuds. I expect the design to be as polarizing as ever among consumers, but I, personally, like its distinct identity.

The Phone 4a Pro’s specs are similar to the Phone 4a. The display is slightly larger at 6.83 inches and has a higher 2,800 x 1,260 resolution. The screen also has a faster 144Hz refresh rate. Its Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chip is also more powerful than the 7S Gen 4 in the Phone 4a. The 5,080mAh battery is the same size as the Phone 4a and supports 50W fast charging. Just like the Phone 4a, the Phone 4a Pro also doesn’t have wireless charging.

The cameras are the same on the Phone 4a Pro as the Phone 4a: a 50-megapixel f/1.88 main, 50-megapixel f/2.88 3.5x telephoto, and an 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultrawide. The selfie camera has 32 megapixels with an f/2.2 aperture.

The Phone 4a Pro is a teensy bit more durable. It has an IP65 rating compared to the Phone 4a’s IP64.

Preorder and release date

As expected from Nothing, the Phone 4a and Phone 4a Pro lean heavily into their designs. If you’re the kind of person who’s tired of rocking the same old iPhone, Galaxy, or Pixel like everyone else on this planet, Nothing’s new phones stand out.

And with affordable prices, they are likely to sell better than the Phone 3, which retailed starting at $800.

Preorders for the Phone 4a start today with availability starting on March 13. Preorders for the Phone 4a Pro start on March 13 with availability starting on March 27.